


War of Hearts

by Fandomgirl0



Series: War of Hearts [1]
Category: The Gifted (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Codependency, F/M, I have half another part written, Implied/Referenced Character Death, One Shot, Renamed, Sibling Incest, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, poor babies, we'll see how this one does
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 23:16:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21044417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandomgirl0/pseuds/Fandomgirl0
Summary: Fateiscruel.





	War of Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> A soulmate AU because there isn't one, yet!
> 
> We all know they belong together, may as well make it official!

"Come on, I'll be right here. I'll catch you."

"Promise?"

"Yeah."

\----

Lauren knew that soulmates existed, of course, at least for people like her.

Mutants.

(The title still sent a small thrill of excitement and fear up her spine.)

They all had one: a word written in silver calligraphy - easily hidden, for those who require it - permanently engraved into your skin.

People called them soul marks.

They're _really_ complicated.

The word was always strange to the host, at least at first. It never makes any sense until you actually meet the one you're meant to be with. It supposedly represented the core of your soulmate's being: their power. 

(She would soon come to realize that the silver writing made for a perfect name: Eclipse, Polaris, Blink...) 

Some even claim that the location of their marks were somewhat significant to the connection between them. 

At 14 years old, Lauren had been a romantic; she loved the idea of having a clue that would lead you to the other half of your soul. She used to envy mutants for it, having already begun the process of looking for love on her own. 

Then she saved herself and her mother from a swerving car _by pushing it away with freaking air,_ and suddenly, soul mates didn't seem all that great anymore. 

If anything, she dreaded her own. 

She's never forgotten that night. The other car had been sent careening into a tree by the side of the road, and her mother had quickly stopped their car and called 9-1-1 before getting out and checking on the driver. Lauren had stayed shell-shocked in the passenger seat until the police and EMTs arrived, and a nice officer gently coaxed her out so she could be looked over by a medic. 

She thought she was fine for the most part, but she had apparently dislocated her shoulder when she raised her arm in a panic. 

(She remembered wishing that her arm across her chest was enough to shield herself.) 

When the medic set her shoulder, her other arm jerked and a bubble of air made a passing cop trip. 

("Tripped on air," Andy would have quipped while laughing.) 

Then she sat alone in the car, legs dangling out of the driver's side door, watching the other driver - a drunk woman, half-conscious and bleeding from her forehead and chin - be wheeled into the ambulance. 

She tore her eyes away, letting the blanket fall, and froze when she looked down. 

On the palm of her right hand, in swirling, silver, was the word "Fenris". 

\---- 

For months after, Lauren struggled to hide her soul mark, but she was convinced fate had screwed her over. How was she supposed to hide _her hand_? Did she have to wear winter gloves every day? Continuously apply makeup to her palm? How the hell was she supposed to get away with it? 

In the end, though, she found a solution that didn't turn too many heads: fingerless gloves. 

People shook it off; it was a common accessory at the time. Her friends were curious about the change, but didn't really press. Her parents didn't notice at first, and even when her mom eventually pointed it out, no one really cared much. 

Well. 

Andy bugged her for the next two years, but that wasn't really surprising; they'd always been close. 

It wasn't until that day in the park that Lauren began to regret how close they were. 

_ "I'll be right here. I'll catch you." _

_ "Promise?" _

She fell. 

He caught her. 

Her world exploded in golden ecstasy and imploded in hazel eyes. 

Then, she was standing and looking from her brother, to her hand, and back again. 

Their dad called to them, asking if they were okay. Lauren played it off like everything was fine, but as she walked away from Andy and recalled the golden warmth in her palm, she knew nothing was okay at all. 

(She had lost her composure in the car on the drive there. She remembered listening to her parents speak about her father's job and feeling so stifled, so alone. 

She was quick to follow her brother down the pavement. 

Fate _was_ cruel.) 

\---- 

She pulled away from him. 

She went out more, made new friends, and tried to ignore how lonely he seemed. 

She flirted with boys, trying to find the same interest she had in them before she was marked for her future. 

(For her _brother_.) 

It wasn't the same. 

Then she found Jack. She liked Jack. 

Jack was nice. Jack was cute. 

(Jack had hazel eyes.) 

Her parents liked him. Her dad deemed him "worthy of his little girl," and her mom called them "the perfect couple". 

Andy never said anything. 

\---- 

Jack asked her to the school dance a year after Fenris made its claim. 

She said, yes, of course. Anything to get out of the house. 

(Her dad has been assigned to a new case: a mutant woman charged with assault and attempted murder. She wasn't supposed to know about it, but he tends to bring his work home with him, and he doesn't hide his notes very well. 

_ Polaris. _

_ Pregnant. _

Lauren couldn't look at her father that day.) 

It hurt, hearing Andy talk so dismissively about mutants, and by extension, her. She knew there was no way he could've known how personal it was, but it still stung to realize how he viewed her kind. 

(She wondered what would disgust him more: his soul entwined with hers, or the gene that put it there.) 

Lauren lets him tag along to the dance, but almost immediately regrets it when her hand tingles during the entire car ride. She practically jumps out of the car when they get to the school, unused to having him so close again after a year of careful distance. 

Jack pulls her into a kiss when she gets to him, but she's too aware of Andy's presence to truly relax in his hold. 

(She could feel his eyes on her. 

Jealousy? 

Maybe? 

...please?) 

Then Andy's grabbing her shoulder and pulling them apart, and she almost lets go completely. 

"Leave room for Jesus," he ordered, and Lauren saw the slight annoyance on Jack's face before he gave her brother an awkward smile. 

Once Andy left - with yet another quip, this time about her not getting pregnant - Lauren twined her arms around Jack's neck and let herself get lost in the joyful atmosphere in the decked-out gymnasium. 

Jack began to ask her about staying out later, and he had this look in his eyes that told her exactly what he wanted to do with that extra time. 

Disgust twisted her insides. 

(His eyes weren't quite right. They were a little too dark, too narrow.) 

"I can't. I have Andy with me," she replied, looking for the subject of her escape. A chill ran through her when she didn't see him slouching in the bleachers. 

Then, the building began to shake, and _Fenris_ burned under her glove. 

(She's known this was possible for the past year, but she hadn't dared to hope... 

Only mutants had soulmates.) 

Jack tried to pull her with him in the crowd's retreat, but she couldn't leave Andy. She broke away, ignoring his shouts, and ran to the locker room, cursing herself for not realizing the situation, sooner. 

She felt a brief flare of panic when two of Andy's tormentors saw her shield, but she could faintly hear her brother screaming and couldn't really focus on anything else. 

Seeing him on the floor, soaking wet, she was the most scared she's ever been. 

(She had to grab his face to stop his screams. 

It was the first time they'd touched in a year.) 

She propped him up and dragged him out of the gym and to the car. She made sure he was lucid enough to put his seat belt on, before quickly taking off. 

Her mind was racing. This was the end of everything. There was no more pretending, no more distance. 

_ She can't keep her distance anymore. _

A thought came to her, and her heart grew stuck in her throat. She didn't dare to break the silence in the ride home, and neither did Andy, who leaned back in his seat and focused on his breathing. 

Lauren stopped the car a block away from their house, and Andy shifted, turning to face her. 

"What happens now?" His voice shook. 

Lauren stared at her brother, taking in his damp hair and the fear in his hazel eyes. A fierce wave of affection swept through her, followed by a deep regret for all that she's done to shove him away. 

She sighed, then reached over and tentatively took hold of his left wrist. 

They both stared at the imprint on his palm, a replica of the mark that appeared on Lauren three years ago, though Andy didn't know that. 

Except... 

It was _exactly_ the same. 

_Fenris_ in swirling silver. 

In all the research she's done on soul marks, she has never come across a situation like this. How was it even possible? She thought _Andy_ was Fenris; was he his own soulmate? Was that a thing? 

Why was his even still silver? 

"Lauren?" 

She let go of his hand immediately, hoping her face didn't give any of her thoughts away. 

She took the glove off of her left hand, wordlessly handing it to Andy. She didn't look at him, but she could tell he was looking at her. He took it, and she started the car again as he put it on. 

The conversation with their mom was going about as well as Lauren expected, but she lost her composure fast when her brother started to cry. It wasn't his fault; it was those stupid fu- 

"You didn't _feel_ anything?" 

_ Christ. _

"Mom, accept it," Was that her speaking? "Andy's a mutant." Yes, yes it was. 

Outing herself was one of the hardest things she had ever done(second only to distancing herself from the other half of her soul), but she remembered how hard it was to adapt to a whole new part of herself and refused to let her brother go through that alone. 

Then Sentinel Services came, and they got the hell out of dodge. They drove for miles in total silence, tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife. 

Andy kept _looking_ at her. 

As soon as their mom stopped to use a payphone, her brother rounded on her, confused and accusing. 

"Three years," he said. 

"Three years," she confirmed. 

He looked so lost. "Lauren, why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell me?" 

She picked at her glove. "I couldn't." 

"Why not?" 

She bit her lip and met his eyes. "I was scared," she admitted. "Dad's a mutant prosecutor, Mom...saw what I did to that driver three years ago, and you..." 

_ "Racist much?" _

He swallowed. "Lauren, I'm sorry," he said, tearing up again. She shifted closer to him and wiped them off his cheek. 

"Stop apologizing," she ordered, "None of this is your fault." 

He caught her wrist and pulled it away from his face, examining her remaining glove. She tensed, prepared to snatch it back if he tried to take it off, but he only looked at it for a few seconds before letting go. 

"You have one, too," he stated, not needing to ask. 

She nodded. 

"Can I see it?" 

She shook her head. 

"That's not very fair," he teased, making her smile, "you saw mine." 

She let out a small laugh, but was saved from answering by their mom coming back to the car. 

\---- 

After the near-disaster of Clarice's portal issue, Lauren realized that she was surrounded by mutants, which meant she was surrounded by soul marks. She stayed huddled with her mom and brother at the end of that first day, surveying them all. 

Her mom hadn't caught on to the soulmate thing yet, but Lauren knew it was only a matter of time until the tables were turned on her again and forced her to explain. 

The thought made her part from her family and roam the Underground. 

She approached John and Marcos, who were standing over Clarice, and they straightened when they saw her coming. 

John spoke up. "Look, she's still not ready-" 

Lauren held up a hand. "I know." She crossed her arms, defensively, before continuing, "I just want to ask about..." She gestured to Marcos's collarbone, where golden letters lay half-hidden under his shirt, and both mutants nodded in understanding. 

Marcos sighed. "I suppose you haven't found yours, yet?" 

"No," she lied, "I'm just curious..." She lowered her voice, "Are soul marks always right? Have they ever been _off_, somehow?" 

They both looked at her strangely, and John shook his head, slightly amused. "I've never heard of it before." He replied. 

Lauren bit her lip, thanking them both, before glancing at Clarice and wandering away. 

(When her mom eventually confronted her and Andy, he held back while she summarized the process, rejecting the notion of revealing their marks to her. 

Lauren could see how lost and confused she felt, and later realized that had been the beginning of the end.) 

\---- 

He was always so angry. 

Sometimes, she thought it was funny; he wasn't at all sympathetic for mutants until he became one. 

Then, she would realize that this was just another way of his being bullied, and would only ever intervene when he was seriously going to get hurt(or hurt someone else). 

"Normal is gone!" He had shouted at her. Lauren had clenched her gloved hand and internally laughed at how right he was. 

\---- 

She told him to keep his mark hidden. "It's a really personal thing," she said, "and you won't really need to see it to find your soulmate, anyways." 

"What do you mean?" He had asked, always the skeptic. 

As hard as she tried, she knew her smile was disheartening instead of encouraging. "You'll feel it," she whispered. 

\---- 

Lauren had always been a faster reader than her brother, so when he was muttering about the Von Strucker twins being two of the strongest mutants in the world, she closed the book before he could read through their abilities, their _name_. 

She hid the book when she was alone and peeled off her glove. She spent hours sitting on top of the roof and crying before John found her. 

(He didn't say anything when she walked past him with a red nose and puffy eyes. 

She would aways be grateful for that.) 

Then she and her brother were in the safe room, and her parents wanted them to hold hands. 

That day in the park flashed through her mind. She recalled the golden glow and already knew the answer to their desperate question. 

They held hands, her right and his left, and Lauren focused on anything but their connection. 

She thought it was over, but Andy was begging her to try again and she gave in. 

(She always gave into him, now.) 

They could've taken the building down. 

(They could've taken the _world_ down, and Lauren wouldn't have wanted to let go.) 

Andy tried to take his glove off when their parents led them out of the room, but Lauren grabbed his hands, recognizing the look on his face. 

"Later," she whispered. 

Her brother frowned, but nodded. 

\---- 

After learning that he had felt the glow that changed her life, everything clicked in her head. 

Resigned, she took her brother's hand and felt the heat emanating from it. She led him to the roof, and quietly told him the details of the manifestation of her power. 

Of her soul mark. 

She gently pulled off her glove, voice breaking when she spoke. "When you find your...soulmate...your mark changes from silver to gold," she explained. 

She didn't meet his eyes when she revealed her mark. His breath hitched, and her eyes went to his hand, which was slowly being freed. 

His fingers were trembling when he held his palm up to hover next to hers. 

_Fenris_ in a _breathtaking_ sheen of gold. 

(She would later learn that no other marks had shone this brilliantly, before. 

Their souls were brighter than most.) 

"We're-" His voice cracked, "we're soulmates?" 

Lauren felt a jolt in her system. She's never heard it said out loud, before. 

(She never said it out loud, before.) 

She swallowed and closed her eyes, tears escaping them. He pulled her into a hug and interlocked their fingers, careful not to let their palms touch. 

"Andy, I'm sorry," she gasped out. He only hugged her, tighter. 

"Stop apologizing," he whispered, "None of this is your fault." 

He held her for hours, only letting go when John and their mother found them. 

They slipped their gloves back on before their mom could see their marks, but John's eyes were too sharp to miss it. 

(He didn't say a word when they walked past him with their hands clasped. 

They would always be grateful for that.) 

\---- 

When she and Andy were forced to use Fenris at Trask, she wanted to tear them all apart for killing Sonia. 

(Her mark was still silver when she died.

_ Warpath. _

Lauren wondered if they felt it, too.) 

When they were free to use Fenris at the compound, she wanted to _disintegrate_ them for treating their connection like a science experiment and using it as a weapon. 

(She admitted to herself, and later to Andy, that it was more about possesiveness than protection. 

He agreed.) 

\---- 

"Come on, I'll be right here. I'll catch you." 

"Promise?" 

"Yeah." 

\---- 

Polaris and Esme wanted Andy to go with them. He stood, and her half of their soul trembled. 

Lauren thought it was over, but Andy was begging her to come with him and she gave in. 

(She always gave into him, now.) 

Esme's gaze was knowing, as Lauren moved to grab her brother's hand. 

(Telepath.) 

Polaris and the others were surprised. 

(She was the _"good"_ one, wasn't she?) 

Her parents were hysterical. 

(Their golden child was golden no more.) 

...But Andy was _smiling_, and Lauren hadn't seen him smile in so long. 

"Don't try to stop us," her brother warned as she reached him, interlocking their fingers and feeling their marks burn. 

(Fenris had freed itself from its coverage, burning through their gloves while they burned down their world.) 

A sharp breath sounded from behind her and Lauren shifted to look at Marcos, who stood by her parents with an unreadable look on his face. His eyes were on their hands and her heart raced. 

_"Are soul marks always right? Have they ever been_ off, _somehow?_

"You-" he began, but was cut off by John grabbing his shoulder. The ex-marine made eye contact with Lauren and gave her a small nod. 

_ Go. _

_ I have to tell them. _

So, go. 

She tugged at Andy's hand, and they turned to follow the others through the door. Lorna lay her hands on each of their shoulders, guiding them away from the sure mess that was building up behind them. 

\---- 

The car ride was tense. 

Lauren never really got to know any of the others besides Polaris, and of course, Andy. She didn't let go of his hand, leaning on him and closing her eyes against their curious stares. 

They knew something was up with them; everyone witnessed the scene with Marcos and John, but none dared to press, to break the silence. 

Esme had no such issue. "I have to admit," she stated, making everyone tune in, "I didn't think you'd be coming along." 

Lauren opened her eyes, and Andy shifted to lay their clasped hands on his leg while glaring at the telepath. 

She only laughed. "Relax, I won't say anything. I know better than to challenge a wolf." 

(She played it off, but Lauren didn't need to read her mind to know how nervous she was; what good was one telepath against Fenris?) 

"Where are we going?" Polaris asked. 

Curious eyes swiveled to Esme, whose eyes glowed blue when she smiled. 

"Have any of you ever been to D.C.?" 

\---- 

When they arrived at the lavish building that would be their new "home," Lauren and her brother were mute. They and the other recruits huddled close together, following Esme and her sisters(who had met them in the garage) inside. 

(It seemed an unspoken pact, for the six of them to stick together in this new world.) 

Lauren and Andy were in sync, in a way. As her left foot hit the ground, so would his right, and vice versa. It was strangely reassuring, though she couldn't really say why. 

("...a connection we still don't understand...") 

The Frost sisters led them to the penthouse floor, where a long table separated them from a gorgeous glass-paned wall and a crisp, clean-cut woman standing on the other end. 

They settled down at said table, and the woman - Reeva - began to speak. 

"It's the dawn of a new era," she declared, a triumph in her words that made Lauren's heart race. "Here, we will work together and fight for a world where mutants are no longer oppressed, but free to be ourselves." 

"A world without hiding," one of the telepaths stated. 

"Without fear," another one added. 

"A world without judgement," the third finished, giving the siblings a subtle smirk. 

Andy squeezed her hand, and Lauren clung to the idea of a world where that was okay, where _they_ were okay. 

(She knew they were being manipulated: _Fenris_ in exchange for _freedom_. 

She didn't care.) 

"Together," Reeva finished, "we will build a home." 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! To all of you faithful readers, I am very sorry that I'm taking so long to update this. I promise I am very close to finishing part one of a two-part sequel covering the events of season two. It's almost done, and I'm very proud of it. I plan on posting chapter one sometime this weekend, so keep an eye out!
> 
> Again, thank you for waiting!
> 
> Date Edited: 08/19/2020


End file.
